RACE to Finality
by chronical199
Summary: He was hunted. Taken and experimented on. Fused and twisted. Escaped and looking. But for what? For fun? For Research. People he had, gone. People he loved, gone. The fact that something of both Dark and Light is able to fuse is something they never knew. And they never were meant to find out. Now? Now they have a monster on their hands. And everyone is getting involved.
1. Preamble

**This one story is a complete rewrite of the original that i had made. The RACE to Finality series was put up on February 5th, 2015. It was a RWBY FanFic that was the first ever FanFic i wrote, and I began writing it because of the Death of Monty Oum. When he died, it sparked me to start writing, and so i did. That fic was something that i had hoped would bring great Joy to Readers. Without the dark we wouldn't be able to see the stars. And so, as i bring up the sad death of the creator of this universe that we all share,**

 **i would like to bring back this fic.**

 **I give you the Rewrite of my first Fanfiction.**

 **RWBY: RACE to Finality.**

* * *

Loneliness. That was all he had been. How long had he been kept in that cell? 5 years? 6 maybe? He wasn't sure. All he knew, was he traveled a barren waste land alone. Nobody to hold. Nobody that knew him in the slightest was around. And yet, he kept walking. Why? Simple, he was driven. Driven to find the one who placed him with this curse, this...abomination they called a body.

A man, he was not a boy, but a man. He was around 16 years of age, black and white hair cut military style. He wore a white strait jacket with two black stripes running down the sides, and the black numbers on the chest that read J-324. Eyes that didn't seem like they were human, white pupils with a black iris around them. It was almost as if you were staring into a demon. He trudged through the Glass Desert lands of Vacuo, no goal in mind, no direction he knew of. All that mattered was to find the person who did this. To find the person who took him and his family away. To find the person who molded his family into who they were now, and tried to change him.

The man stopped, the heat giving him blisters on his face and skin. He squinted his eyes as he looked ahead, something catching his attention. He got in a ready stance, his bare feet sliding slightly in the sand. Moments passed, but nothing moved. Suddenly, the sand in front of him exploded, and he jumped up. When the sand cleared from the air, the man saw what he was up against. A King Taijitu. It was smaller than average, signifying that it was a new one just given to this world. The man in the strait jacket, whom was still air born, lifted his right leg over his head before slamming it down the middle of the King Taijitu.

The snake grimm let out a deafening screech of pain as its counterpart flew across the desert, dead. It landed in the sand, withering about, it trying to save itself. But it couldn't.

The man landed with force upon its head, splattering it into the sand. It immediately began to disperse into the air, the black and white flakes of its essence floating away. The man looked at where the corpse had lain, before he began his walk again, this time with bloody feet. A few crunches were heard under foot, and bloody footprints left their mark on the sands of Vacuo.

* * *

The man, whom hadn't said a word, was lying in a bed. It was all the inn could offer besides food and water. His strait jacket had been taken off for him, giving him freedom for his hands. They even supplied him with clothes, which he accepted with a simple grunt. Other than eating and drinking, he hadn't left his room. Soon, he got up as the clock struck noon, the grumble of a stomach that resounded in the room.

The man walked down the stairs to the quiet sound of the inn, only few people or faunus were eating or drinking, others were either out or sleeping. He walked over to counter and tapped it three times, causing the bartender to look over. He simply chuckled before handing him a glass of water along with a plate of steak, salad, and bread. The man ate before he drank his water, then started to head back upstairs. That is, until a group of four men walked in laughing.

"A-and when he was all 'but thats a human.'! BAHAHAHA!" One of them, a husky man with a deep voice laughed out, letting the others join in. The other three were just the same. Tough looking guys with a big appetite. That was the first impression that the man got of them.

"Hey, did you guys hear about that order Atlas put out on TV?" One of them asked, suddenly serious. The other three nodded before anyone talked.

"Yeah, what was his name? Er, Jackson...Crow?" One of the others thought outloud, the whole group in thought. One of them saw the man by the stairs and frantically tapped his friends shoulder.

"What?" He asked before following his gaze. They looked in towards the group and began to whisper. Meanwhile, the man had an emotionless face, but eyes full of anguish. Everyone was soon whispering, as large amounts of aura seemed to be seeping from this man, and it wasn't an aura that was good.

* * *

Vale. The kingdom of peace, or so goes the word. Home to the prestigous Beacon academy, one of a few schools that taught and trained humanities best hunters and huntresses. A select few of these students were very important. Key people if you will. A total of 12 to mention, yet only 3 of these 12 were important. But, let's save that for later.

A girl with a combat skirt and red frills, a lady with a white over coat, an adept reader with a black combat suit, and a golden flame with no way to burn out. These four were team RWBY.

Team RWBY, along with company of Team JNPR, were sitting in professor Ports hunting class. They were sitting, half of them goofing off, and the other half intent on their learning (*cough cough* Weiss *cough cough*). A subject not even related to the class was brought up, and it brought up a story. A very recent one, which caught the attention of everyone.

"Ah, this one was fairly recent," Peter started off, "I was called down to Vacuo, as well as a few other hunters and huntresses. It must have been dire cor them to need more than 3. The worst part was that it wasn't to do with any grimm. No, this was an escaped convict, whom is still somewhere out there."

"They had apparently called down all the hunters and huntresses that specialized in tracking. The soldiers kept going on about how 'he just wasn't there anymore.' and had us try to track his whereabouts," he stopped to take a sip of his coffee, "it was one of the most challenging assignments. We were out in the Vacuo desert lands searching, as the convict was said to head in that direction. I looked for signs of any sort of presence. Footprints, dried blood, up rooted plants. I even used latest technology! But, to no avail, could any of us find a single trace." He paused for a minute, making sure the class was paying attention.

"Until, one of us found something. An abandon storage room seemed to be emiting a black aura. We asked them why it was doing that, and they simply said 'It's his cell.' This caused great disturbance with us. Atlas, keeping someone capable of leaving an aura mark was NOT good." a student raised their hand, a question waiting to be answered.

Port chuckled a little before answering the question, "And, what my boy are you asking?"

The student lowered his hand, "What is an 'Aura mark'?"

Everyone began to whisper to themselves, the same question seeming to float around. Team RWBY wasn't much different, as they began to talk amongst themselves.

"You guys know what an Aura mark is?" Ruby Rose asked her companions. Yang Xiao Long shook her head, Blake Belladona simply shrugged, but Weiss Schnee seemed to know.

"An Aura mark is a phenomenon. It happens when a persons aura is strong enough to leek out of their body, causing it to 'stain' an area. This is very dangerous, because if it were to stain a person, that person could change drastically."

Port clapped as everyone looked back to him, "Excellent! An amazing explanation, Mrs. Schnee!" Weiss just let out a 'hmph' of triumph.

"What Mrs. Schnee is correct. But this wasn't supposed to happen. If you have a powerful aura, you could be leaving an Aura mark. This can be prevented by limiters. These 'limiters' can be things like jewelry and clothing, even a weapon. The thing that shocked us, however, was the fact the limiters given to him were bro-" before he could continue, the bell rang, signifying the end of class. Port sighed and addressed the class.

"Remember what we learned today! Have a great evening, and we might pickup tomorrow!" And with that, the class emptied itself.

* * *

The man was now standing in a building, new clothing adorned on his body. He had acquired a trench coat as well as a satchel, both of which were black with a white stripe going across them. He had black pants that had no pockets, but had white metal knee pads. His feet were now cover with a pair of black boots, metal bottom clicking where he walked. On his back, he adorned a cloak with an emblem upon its black fabric, the picture of a crow. He walked down the street, a gust of wind blowing against his face. The town, now deathly silent, was empty. The man stopped in front of a weaponsmith shop, the door ripped off as if in search for something. The buildings all around looked ragged and destroyed, almost as if it was a different village.

As he stepped in, something jumped out of the shadows. He flung his hand out and snatched the thing by the throat. He got a good look at it before bringing it to his face. It was an Atlas soldier.

"Where? Where did you hide it?" The man asked in a whisper, holding the soldier even through struggle. The Atlas soldier just grunted and struggled more, causing the man to clutch harder.

"Where. Is. It." He asked again. The soldier pointed shakily towards a storage closet, and the man crushed his throat. Dropping the body, he walked towards the storage closet, glass crunching beneath his feet. As he approached, he heard mumbling coming from beside it.

"No no no no no no no…" the mumbling seemed to be directed at the man, as the closer he got, the louder he seemed to talk. Soon, it was at the point of almost yelling.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" the voice shouted, the man standing above the person screaming.

"Who are you?" the man asked the voice. The figure stopped screaming and retreated to a sob.

"Y-you cannot! You c-c-can't! Not that weapon! Not you! You're h-h-h-him! Yes, you are…are Jackson! Jackson Crow! The m-m-m-m-monster! Get away! Get awa-" the voice halted with a choking cry, as the man named Jackson Crow kicked him upside the head. He opened the weapon storage and reached his hand inside, grabbing the thing he was searching for. As he pulled it out, it seemed to come to life with a hum.

It was a Scythe, though not as pretty as you might think. It looked as if it had no mechanics integrated in it, it was simplistic. It had a black demonic look to it, and the blade was a shiny white as it seemed untouched. It had a spike on the bottom of the stem of metal. It had demonic plant like designs climbing all over it, and a small light where the handle was placed, making it glow red. Jackson pointed the weapon at the unconscious form of the man he had kicked, and squeezed the handle. It made a clicking sound and a red ball began to form at the top of the scythe. It shot out at an unseen speed and struck the man. The body began to fall apart, as if it was a corpse decomposing. Soon, he was a pile of rotting body parts, and Jackson walked out of the building. He held an emotionless face once more, eyes that had no meaning shined.

He began to tread again, using his cloak to shield himself from the sand and heat. He had one destination he had in mind. An old friend that could help him. And the only word he spoke on his travels was one that would remind him of why he was doing this.

"Ozpin…"

* * *

 **Well, this was hopefully a good chapter for you all. This is a rewrite of the original story from almost an exact year ago. Just remember, constructive criticism and reviews, favorites and follows, all of that is much appreciated. So, I'll get to the next chapter! Bye!**


	2. The Assignment

**I'm not sure if the last chapter was good or not for you guys, and I believe that it was because it more centered the entrance of the MC, Jackson Crow. I'll tell you guys now, there's going to be a lot of chapters that will have more of everything with him than our normal cast. The normal cast are going to be supportive towards the MC, and then the "Special Cast" that become the main team will be revealed. I'm not even going to really bother waiting for reviews (even if I want them), as I will be doing the exact same thing I did with this fic in 2015. Just, keep writing the chapters and posting them when I can.**

 **So, without further a due, I present the second chapter!**

* * *

Jackson crouched behind some brush in the forest, holding his breath as to not alert those who had followed him. For a few moments, it was silent, nothing resounded within the green forest area of Vacuo. He had made it out of the desert a few days ago, and was graced with the presence of water and food. Soon, however, Atlas soldiers accompanied by knights appeared. Apparently, a survivor at the village that was emptied had pointed in the direction Jackson had headed. Whomever it was, they had apparently told them everything, as these guys came full force.

Jackson waited a few more moments, and soon he got what he was looking for. Large amounts of rustling in the trees made noise almost like a hurricane, and the faint outline of people could be seen running through the trees. He frowned and waited for them to pass, and after the sounds had completely died off, he waited around five minutes, though breathing all the while. When he was sure they had actually left, he emerged from his spot and huffed an angered sigh.

"Damn tracking Hunters. Never know when to give up, do they?" he whispered to himself. He opened the small satchel he had and took out a compass, looking where he was headed next. He had no scroll, as they could be tracked and monitored by Atlas, so he resorted to older tools. The small arrow wavered a little before settling on the north direction, which was behind him to the left a bit.

His little escapade from the lab in which he was held was harder than most would expect. High security, special Atlas knights and paladins, not to mention the three limiters they held him in. Two of the limiters were easy to break, while the last one wasn't taken off until he got to the village. These limiters were three things. One were Shackles, clipped and locked onto his elbows, knees, ankles, and wrists. The second one was a face mask that covered his nostrils and mouth, it also delivered sleep toxins into his lungs whenever he yelled or screamed, which would begin to put him to sleep. The last one was the strait jacket. This limiter was what troubled him, as he couldn't do what he did with the shackles and face mask. It was strapped everywhere, and only gave freedom in his legs.

His teeth were damaged when he chewed the face mask off, and he broke his arms and legs just to get out of the shackles. Lucky for him he had the semblance he had, or else they would have easily taken him down. His semblance was the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct any solid mater. He could either completely reconstruct his bones, or completely deconstruct a 3 story building. And, with enough practice, he could control how it came back together or came apart. He could take a deconstructed tree and reconstruct it into a log and branches. He could deconstruct someone's left foot and turn it into a hand. Practice with it daily was all that was needed to do such a thing with his semblance.

Jackson began to head into the direct of which he had given himself, starting by jumping onto a tree and continuously doing so. As he was jumping, however, he heard the voice of an older man in his head.

" **How…long was I…out?** " the voice asked. Jackson only smirked on the outside, the conversation continuing in his head.

" _Too long, Ayashi._ "

" **Clarify 'Too long'.** " The voice known as Ayashi spoke.

Jackson landed onto another tree and halted, " _About 7 months, give or take._ "

" **Seriously?! Those bastards didn't let you feed?!** " the voice sounded angered. Jackson chuckled out loud, imagining the voices' expression.

" **Hey, I am in your mind. I know what you think about, and that is not what I look like.** " Ayashi stated with complaint. Jackson started jumping form tree to tree again.

" _How would I know? I can never see your face!_ " Jackson thought with a chuckle. Ayashi seemed to have huffed in annoyance, which had Jackson burst into laughter. This laughter, however, distracted him, and he smacked a tree branch with his face. The force sent him almost instantly to the ground, and he quickly gasped for air as the wind was knocked from him. Now it was Ayashi's turn to laugh.

" **BAH HA HA HA HAHA!** " Jackson sat up and shook himself from the pain, his aura healing a cut on his forehead.

"Not. Funny." Jackson said out loud. The laughing stopped and Jackson jumped back into the trees, beginning his travel to the north east once more. There was only one problem. He needed to get in contact with Ozpin, and it wasn't going to be easy. Letters weren't used anymore, and he couldn't make calls. There was only one way to do this, and it required him to kill a few people some more. He needed a scroll.

* * *

Team RWBY were sitting in their dorm room, sitting around and doing small tasks such as drawing or reading. It had been boring, as none of them had any work assigned by the teachers. It had gotten especially boring when the Whitefang broke up into small peaceful groups, and Roman was killed. No big criminal people were running around anymore. So, the team would sit and do nothing.

That is, that was what they were doing 3.1 seconds after the call through the intercom speakers made by Ozpin himself sounded through the entire academy.

" _Attention all students of Beacon Academy. This is a onetime call, so listen carefully. All students are required to meet outside, by the aircraft ports. This includes all third years present as well, and any team on a mission will be given a recording of this upcoming assembly. You must be there within 30 minutes._ " The intercom snapped off, leaving time for comprehension of the call. However, the halls were soon bustling with noise as teams of students hurried outside. Team RWBY had the bright idea of waiting for everyone else to leave, as to not get trampled in the commotion. After a few minutes, no sound came from outside, but it had Team RWBY on edge for some reason.

"You guys think it's clear?" Blake asked from her book. Ruby jumped down from her bunk and started walking towards the door.

"Only one way to find out." And with those words she opened the door. She looked up and down the hallway before signaling to her team that it was clear. The other three followed suit and stepped out of their room, and began heading towards the aircraft ports.

"So," Yang began a conversation, "What do you guys think this is going to be about?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is that it better be something to do." Weiss said as she walked with the whole 'rich girl' ordeal.

"Well, it beats just sitting in our room all weekend." Blake stated nonchalantly, small bags under her eyes. Soon they got outside, and could hear the whole of the schools mumbling from the dorm entrance.

"Heh, they're louder than Yang's snoring." Ruby joked. Yang growled playfully at the joke, giving Ruby a pinch of the nose.

"Well, well, well! I guess we're gonna take have to steal Crescent Rose, huh?!" Yang laughed out as she swiped Crescent Rose from Ruby's back.

"Hey! Give her back!" Ruby squealed as she tried to grab her weapon, which was being dangled above her by Yang.

"Hey, come on guys. We can play around later, but we've all got to go to this assembly." Weiss said with an annoyed tone. Yang sighed and gave Ruby back her weapon.

"Fine, fine. You don't gotta be so cold, Ice Queen." Yang replied as they began walking again. Weiss just let out a huff of annoyance, making Ruby chuckled while Blake smirked in silence.

Soon enough, they arrived to the aircraft ports where all the other teams were standing and talking to one another. It hadn't been long, probably about 10 minutes, and Ozpin was standing upon a moveable stage. There were no speakers, and he stood there a while longer. Believing everyone was there, he took his cane and pounded it on the ground three times. The noise was loud enough and caught everyone's attention, making silence spread throughout the crowd.

Ozpin cleared his throat before he spoke, "Now, you probably are wondering why you have been called here. That will be answered, but not at this moment. There is another piece of business that must be discussed."

"As you probably have heard from the news reports, a criminal has escaped an Atlas prison in the deserts of Vacuo. Normally, Atlas would be tasked with hunting and returning him to the establishment in which he fled from. But, this was apparently not so. 2 weeks ago, some of your very teachers were called in to try and help locate this man, and what they told me was very…unsettling. The man that has been set free was supposedly found in a small settlement outside the walls, and when Atlas soldiers arrived, the settlement was untouched. On the outside that is."

"The man they were sent to hunt had apparently stopped there to rest and rejuvenate. When he was finished with doing so, he had slaughtered all of the residence. There was one thing that stood out about this though. Atlas had verified that there were settlements closer to the prison facility than the one he went to. Not to mention the fact that all buildings were searched by him and certain objects were missing. Can anyone tell me why?" Ozpin stopped and sipped his coffee, waiting for someone to answer his question. Soon, someone in the crowd raised their hand.

"Ah, Mrs. Serine Evelyn. And what do you think?" Ozpin picked out the student from the crowd. She had lime green hair and green eyes, while she wore a white and black sleeveless shirt and shorts. Black and green striped stockings came up to her thighs, and she had green combat boots. She had 2 green daggers sheathed on the outside of them, and a belt that held her scroll and a small green purse. She was about 5 foot 3 inches, and had a petite body.

"On the news, about 4 months ago, he made his first escape. He had all this gear of his that someone had apparently given him to help him out. When they caught him, however, the gear was all gone. That means that it was hidden somewhere." She gave an answer that Ozpin smirked at.

"Very nicely said, Mrs. Evelyn. As expected of the next heir to the Federal Crime Bureau," The headmaster stated before continuing, "That is most likely what happened. Someone on the inside gave this man information on how to escape, and how to avoid security. But, that is not what is unsettling. This man, Jackson Crow, is a very capable person. And I say that because I've known him. However, that was 7 years ago. He was sentenced to life in prison after the murder of two entire households, including his own. This man was trained by me for a long time, and it changed his aura greatly. Everyone has heard the story Professor Port has, without a doubt, told to every class he has?" the students mumbled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Jackson Crow is completely capable of killing half of Vacuo. If he wanted to, but we don't know his motives. His Aura is even more dangerous, as the imprisonment he was in and my training affected it. He is capable of leaving an Aura mark, though that can be controlled to a degree. He needed three limiters in his imprisonment just so they could keep him from moving freely. If he ever spoke, a face mask limiter gave him sleep toxins, either through the lungs or injected through the face."

"Now, since he has escaped, and Atlas has asked for our help to track him down, all the hunters have been mobilized. At least, all the ones that aren't currently doing other things, such as teaching. With this, Atlas has decided that Hunters and Huntresses in training are allowed to aid others in the hunt. The only ones able to go, though, are those that are from the academies of that kingdom. There is a limit as to how many can go. Only 4 teams, from each academy, are allowed to go. Atlas and Vacuo have already got theirs up and about. Mistral is currently getting theirs flown over to Vacuo. We haven't decided in what way we shall choose, so we have created a roster. If you would like to join in the hunt, you are welcome to sign up. Just remember," Ozpin paused and took a drink of his coffee, "You might not come back alive."

Everyone stood in silence for a few moments, taking in the speech delivered by their headmaster. A few teams had seemed a little scared, and headed to the back of the crowd. Others were currently talking about what they were going to do. But little by little, teams began to head towards the back of the crowd. Team RWBY wasn't one of them.

"You guys, we should TOTALLY do this! I mean we've done this before! With defeating Cinder, and-and saving Vale!" Ruby whispered in an excited tone. Weiss seemed a little intrigued, Blake was curious and Yang was just as excited as Ruby.

"Mhmm, I can see us doing this. The only thing is that we're searching all of the continent." Weiss trailed off with different things that might happen and such.

"I don't see a problem with it. It would be interesting to be working with others, especially when they're all from different academies." Blake explained with a small smile. Ruby began to gush at the thought of being able to go on this little adventure.

"I'm with Rubes on this one. It'll be full of fun, and action! Just what I need!" Yang shouted out, getting pumped for the ride. More teams had gone to the back of the crowd, leaving a small amount of teams still talking.

"We're going." Serine stated with determination laced deep in her voice.

"But, Serine! It's dangerous, we could die out there. I wouldn't want to have to bear the thought of losing you guys." A man on her team began to complain.

"I'm with Grey with this one. Can't say I'd enjoy dying in something I could have avoided." Another agreed, making Serine growl.

Serine twirled around and looked at another boy, who hadn't seemed to be paying attention, "Kyler, you'd want to go on this assignment as well, right?"

The man known as Kyler looked down upon the small body of Serine. He had nothing hinting towards his answer, and Serine sat there with her arms crossed.

"I don't want to go." Kyler finally spoke. Serine started to fume with anger. It was a three to one vote, and she wasn't going to pass up the chance to go on this assignment. Only a few teams were left, a total of 6, and she was going to be one of those 6.

"Fine! I'll go on my own!" the huntress said, arms still crossed. This caused a small panic between her teammates, as they were now begging her not to leave.

"I said I'm going by myself! That's that, so if you'd please go to the back of the crowd if you don't want to go!" Serine snapped at them. They looked down in shame as they slowly trudged to the back with 3 teams accompanied them.

Ozpin looked at the results before speaking, "The results are being shown themselves. We shall have Team RWBY," Yang and Ruby jumped into the air and gave each other high fives, "Team JNPR," Nora let out some sort of scream of excitement, only to be cut off by Ren trying to silence her, "Now, Mrs. Evelyn, you must have your Team with you. If they refuse to be present, then you mustn't go."

Serine growled before replying to her headmaster, "I would like to go on this assignment, Professor Ozpin. Besides, they've got enough people, it wouldn't hurt for them to be short three extra people." Ozpin held no emotional reaction to her reply, only that of a small nod of understanding.

"Very well. You will be working with team JNPR and RWBY. You all will be on your own, you will be sent to Vacuo, and you will be spending however long it takes to finish this. If your chase leads you to another Kingdom, you will pursue that lead. Now, that doesn't mean you can't go and relax from time to time. Just remember," he paused to let it sink in, "you have a job to do, so do it."

With those final words, he stepped off of the stage and signaled the group to follow. The rest of the crowd went back to their dorms, a few casting good luck glances. As Ozpin was walking a good distance ahead of the others, his scroll buzzed. He grabbed it and opened it up, reading the message sent to him.

" _We need to talk._ " It was completely random, from an unknown number. It piqued his curiosity.

" _Who are you?_ " Ozpin replied back. The person didn't reply instantly, but a reply did come.

" _The bird the Scavenges._ " And before the Headmaster could reply, his scroll began to go haywire. He waited a few moments before something popped onto his screen, and his eyes widened. He knew the icon that popped up, and he would keep it that way. Ozpin closed his scroll as he headed back to his tower, the chosen people of this assignment following behind.

* * *

Jackson let out a sigh as he closed the scroll. He had collected two, and now he had used the first one. He set it on the ground and pointed his scythe at the electronic device. He squeezed the handle and watched as it began to rust and rot. He aimed at the bodies of the two people he killed, until Ayashi spoke in his mind.

" **Wait! I need food, don't kill them!** " Jackson sighed as he stabbed his weapon into the ground next to him.

"Fine, jeez." Jackson spoke his answer out loud. Jackson began to convulse, his body hunching over as his aura began to spill out. He began to hack and cough as his body and face began to change. His body became taller by a foot, giving him 6 feet and 9 inches. His skin began to go a deathly black, as his face seemed to grow bone on the outside. He grabbed his face and screamed in pain, aura flowing out faster. The sounds of bones popping and cracking would make someone sick. Things that looked like metal plates began to move around under his clothing, and his eyes began to go yellow.

He stopped screaming after a few moments, nothing but the sickening sounds of bones still moving around. Then, suddenly, it stopped. He stood up straight, and let the lights of the sun reveal the finishing product.

His face was a death black with white bone plates symmetrically in a design that resembled a creeper Grimm. His mouth was only noticeable because of the Grimm teeth that grew outside the lips. He rolled his shoulders and an audible crack was heard. He rolled his jaw a bit before looking down at the bodies.

" **Man, am I hungry.** " the voice sounded like Ayashi. He picked up one of them, a male faunus, and opened his mouth. An audible hiss was heard as he smelt the body, only to recoil in disgust and throw it to the side. He picked up the other one, another male but not a faunus. He smelt the body with a hiss, and with lightning speed cut the body down the middle. Ayashi opened the body like a package and grabbed two things. One was a lung, and the other was the heart. He collected the parts and felt them individually.

" **The lung seems nice and tender, not too much muscle in this one. The heart even more so, and filled with some extra fat and blood.** " Ayashi spoke to himself before tearing the lung in half, blood spraying in a burst on his face. He shoveled on half into his mouth before chewing a few times. He finished the other half swiftly, and shoved the heart in his mouth like chips. After a few short minutes of eating and digestion, Ayashi blew out a sigh.

" **Oh, I haven't eaten in forever!** " he spoke out loud. After those words, he hunched forward and yet another change happened. After a few moments of changing, Jackson had regained control of his body once more.

"I've got to hurry, the damn Trackers will be hear soon." Jackson didn't waste any time as he jumped back into the trees, traveling to a different location to contact his target.

* * *

Ozpin sat at his desk, hands folded together with his coffee in arms reach. Glynda was pacing back and forth behind his desk, hitting her hand with her riding crop, and repeating the action. Ozpin had gotten in contact with the _"The bird that Scavenges",_ only to find out that it was the wanted fugitive himself. He called with a video chat, and Glynda had beat him to it. Ozpin had kept her from reporting him, and had a long conversation with Jackson via scroll. Jackson had explained everything he could. The last line that Ozpin didn't understand was what he left with.

 _'_ _They lied about everything Oz.'_

What could that mean? He had no clue, but someone did. And Jackson gave him the name of that very person.

Serine Evelyn.

* * *

 **BAM, cliffhanger. I'm not even sure anyone is reading this, so I might be just writing to myself. Oh well! What'll happen next? What dialogue will my computer delete off of a chapter this next time? That'll all be answered next time! So, for now, see you guys later!**


	3. Collaboration

**I feel old? Any of you guys feel old? I mean, yeah sure, there's the new generation, but then there's us. We're old. Everyone born in between 1997 and 2004 is said to be the Y generation, or something like that. Anyways, enough of that.**

 **So, some of you guys might be confused what happened towards the end of the chapter. Jackson turning into Ayashi then proceeding to be picky over which dead body he was going to eat. I'll just put this in the AN here to explain what it is. That way, those who actually read AN's will know just what the hell I mean. While the others who don't read these AN's will just find out later in this chapter. In all honesty, I don't care.**

 **Basically, in the summary, it states stuff about experiments. Well, Jackson and his family were taken by "Atlas" when he was in between 8 and 9 years old. They did experiments on him and his family, and he had no contact with any of them during this time. In chapter 1, I wrote about how he's 'hunting the man who changed his family and tried to change him'. Jackson had no way of knowing if his family were killed or not, until his first try at escaping. He hid some on the facility and held a soldier hostage, and interrogated him. The same experiments were performed on his family, which were Grimm fusing projects. However, Jackson had escaped a second time before they could fully complete it, which is why there is a "VOICE" in his head. The Voice, known as Ayashi, came into being about around the first time they attempted the experiment, which was a supposed failure. So, they've been, like, best buddies for about 7 years.**

 **Okay, enough blabber. Here's chapter 3!**

* * *

Serine walked down the halls of Beacon academy, anger and hope both present in her mind. She hoped that Jackson was still alive, as helping him escape was NOT easy, even with her ranking as heiress of the Federal Crime Bureau. She hated the fact that she was being called to Ozpins office. Whether it had something to do with the assignment, or something from her mother, she didn't care. She was trying to configure a plan if she did find him.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a buzzing on her belt. Serine grabbed the scroll and opened it up. Another message from Ozpin.

"Great." She whispered to nobody. The green haired girl read it before shutting her scroll in anger. She put it back on her belt with a 'click' before she began sprinting to the office to which she was originally headed to.

"Damn old geezer, telling me to hurry up. What the hell does he need me for anyway? Jeez." Serine began mumbling to herself, anger seeming to eat her up. As she stepped into the elevator leading to Ozpins office, she began to try and calm down. It was a long ride up, so she had all the time she needed. Serine sat there a few minutes waiting for the elevator to arrive, and only when she thought it had just stopped did she feel a lurch. The doors opened with a classy 'ding' and she stepped out. Ozpin sat there at his desk with Goodwitch behind him. Serine walked over to his desk, stopping a few feet away from it.

"Good, you got my message." Ozpin greeted with a smirk. Serine just huffed in annoyance, signaling Ozpin to move on.

"Mrs. Evelyn," he paused to take a sip of his coffee, "I am going to be straight forward with you about this."

"Okay?" Serine replied with annoyance. She had no clue why she was called here, and she wanted him to be straight with her, so that way they could get this over with.

"He said you could explain."

"Who's 'He'?"

"Jackson Crow." Serine almost choked on air, and her eyes widened.

"H-he's…alive?" She choked out. Ozpin nodded slowly, and Serine felt overwhelming feelings begin to spew out. However, she held them in, not wanting to let them out here.

"The last thing he said to me has me dumbstruck. 'They lied about everything Oz.' Do you know what he's talking about? Because he DID say you could explain." Ozpin spoke with a curious tone. Serine nodded frantically, knowing this is what Jackson would want.

"Yeah, he's talking about 7 years ago. When he was supposedly arrested."

"Was he not?"

"No, he was abducted." She stated after she regained her stature. She stood there with arms crossed, a look of annoyance present on her face.

This was big news to Ozpin. He had no idea that Jackson was abducted. But how could he believe this for sure. He'd been too trusting before, and that costed him, that being one of his many mistakes. He sipped from his coffee mug before speaking, "How? When I got there, I saw the blood at the scene. Bodies were covered and Atlas was everywhere."

"And did you see Jackson or any of his family? No, you didn't. You didn't even check," Serine answered with disgust, "You stooped so low as to not second guess the crime scene."

"I took what was given to me. What came from them would've been backed by _something_ , I assure you." Ozpin stated, getting serious now. This was a discovery he hadn't known about, and this could mean very bad things for the kingdoms.

"And, another question," it was Glynda's turn to speak, "How would you have known what really happened?"

Serine looked up in thought for a while, earning suspicious looks from both Ozpin and Goodwitch. She looked as if she was about to answer, but was distracted when Ozpins desk began to beep repeatedly. It was a scroll call, unknown number. At least, to Ozpin. Serine wasted no time in running over to his desk and pressing the ' _accept_ ' button, putting the call through.

 _"_ _Hello? Anybody there? I know I have the right number."_ The voice was slightly choppy coming through, and video was hardly working either.

 _"_ _Hold on, lemme…just…"_ After a moment the feed cleared up, _"Ahah! Yes! Okay, can you see me?"_

"Yes, I see you perfectly Jackson." Ozpin stated, hands clasped together upon his desk. Serine was standing behind Ozpin, a face of nervousness upon her. Jackson leaned forward a bit to do something before sitting back.

 _"_ _Well, did she explain, Oz?_ " Jackson asked with a sudden change of tone. Ozpin glanced behind him before looking back at Jackson.

"Why not ask her yourself?" Ozpin replied with a smirk, earning a squeal from Serine. Glynda just face palmed.

 _"_ _Oh, she's there? Well, don't hide Seri! Come on! Give me a greeting at least!"_ Jacksons tone changed once more, sounding almost childlike. Ozpin went from a smirk to a grin as he stood from his seat and motioned to Serine to sit down. The girl had a look of nervousness and panic, and when she hesitated, Goodwitch forced her to sit down. The headmaster and his assistant began to walk towards the exit, and Serine sat at the chair with a nervous look.

Ozpin turned around in the elevator as Goodwitch hit the button, "Seri? Really?"

The doors closed with a 'ding', leaving Serine with the video call. It was an awkward silence for about 2 minutes, nothing being said. The only thing that made noise was the static that was emitting from Jackson's end of the call.

 _"_ _So, how've you been Serine?"_ Jackson snapped silence in half with a question. Serine took a moment before answering.

"I-I've been okay…I guess." She cursed herself in her head for speaking without thought. Jackson's face seemed to soften up as he smiled.

 _"_ _That's good. It's been a few weeks since I had contact with you, and a few years since face to face."_ He stated with a calm tone. It almost soothed Serine, and she felt herself feel relaxed. Only a few people made her this relaxed. Her father, her teammates, and Jackson.

"Hey, I signed up for this assignment here and…well, it's to hunt you down." Serine spoke, genuine sadness in her voice. Jackson could instantly tell she felt as if she did something wrong.

 _"_ _Hey, it's not your fault. This was expected,"_ he paused for a moment, _"partially."_

Serine just giggled a little at his attempt at humor, "There will be two other teams with me, and there are already 6 teams from Atlas and Vacuo down there. This isn't just the real hunters and huntresses anymore, they're bringing in the hunters and huntresses in training to help."

Jackson frowned at Serine's information, as it seemed to affect how he would operate. He got up from where he was sitting and walked over somewhere. The sound of things being tossed around was audible, and soon he was sitting again.

 _"_ _There's enough materials here for me to manage something. I'll make some sort of beacon, have it send my location to your scroll. And, if you can, get those other teams you mentioned to come along. If we can convince them, they will help a lot."_ Serine nodded in understanding, the plan coming to her. Jackson was a huge techy. His father had taught him all the basics of programming and data drive RRD. Reconstruction, Recollection, and Decoding.

"What if we can't convince them?" Serine asked the man. This earned an unreadable expression before a reply, sending something of a chill down her spine.

 _"_ _They'll be convinced,"_ his tone changed once more, _"I'll explain things to you when you find me! I've gotta go!"_ And with that, the call ended.

* * *

Ozpin was waiting in the lobby of the main academy tower, coffee steaming slightly in hand. He hadn't been waiting long, and was currently sitting down on a bench. He had dismissed Glynda to go ahead and teach her class, so it was just him. Soon, the elevator gave a 'ding' as it opened up, revealing Serine. She walked out and began heading towards the exit, but Ozpin got up.

"Mrs. Evelyn!" He called, catching her attention. She turned and walked over to him, her combat boots clicking with every step.

"We've got a plan we need to discuss." She whispered, earning a questioning gaze from Ozpin. She began to head outside of the building, Ozpin following in tow. Nothing short of normal is what it looked like. Except, not everyone can keep secrets like this a secret.

"Okay, Mrs. Evelyn. What is this 'plan'?" the question was but a whisper, even on an empty path.

Serine sighed before she spoke up, "Jackson wants to get the other two teams involved."

"That's not really a plan…"

"I know, that's not all. He's going to broadcast his location to our scrolls, and then shut it off once we've got a fix on it. The only problem is he's going to be giving it away for 30 seconds."

"You make it sound like a prize." Serine almost lost it right there.

"Still-"

"Serine," Ozpin cut her off, "did he tell you anything other than a plan? Did he tell you his condition at all?"

Serine's eyes widened as she realized what Ozpin meant. She shook her head before running off towards the dorms, leaving Ozpin behind.

"Well, I didn't know that she would be THAT worried." And with those words, Ozpin took a sip from his mug and walked off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Jackson spun in a chair as he click another piece on the small machine, earning a small humming noise as it lit up a light blue. He looked at it a bit before setting it gently onto the counter, and rolled back across over to the desk.

"No doubt, Atlas traced that call. They'll be here soon, and we're going to have to kill them all. Ayashi,' try to make this as clean as possible." Jackson voiced his thoughts. Silence was all he was met with before he leaned back in his chair, awaiting the ever coming storm of soldiers.

* * *

 **Well, another cliff hanger…I guess. Not sure if this counts, but we'll roll with it. Not to mention the fact that it was all one sided here, no swapping to Jackson's side or something. Well, at least, not until the end. Anyways, what'll happen next?! Will Jackson and Ayashi leave and kill everyone? Will Ozpin's mug finally break? Will Serine go and scream in a pillow? I don't know because I haven't written it yet! So, see you next chapter!**


	4. Arrival

**So, this one will probably be a little longer than most! But, that's just me, and I like me. That probably didn't sound right, but who cares! Well, I do, but whatever.**

 **Okay, if you haven't noticed yet, then I'll say it here. I've got a word count that I try to keep with me, in between 2,000 and 6,000 words per chapter. I feel like I need to keep the chapters in between these parameters because I don't feel content with too much or too little. It's just right this way, so just know your reading around 3,500 words or something like that.**

* * *

Jackson sat at his make shift desk in a chair, leaning back against it with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He had been waiting for the hunters to get to his place, but apparently they didn't trace it. He sighed in disappointment.

"Man, I thought that they would show up!" he whined to himself. A low growl came from inside his mind, and Jackson perked up at this.

"What's up Ayashi?"

There was a long pause in his mind before a verbal reply, " **They've been here it seems, they're just waiting for you. I would suggest you grab your weapon in about…7 seconds, then shoot to your 5 o'clock. Three times.** "

Jackson snickered at the whole plan he had just heard. Ayashi was sort of like an Artificial Intelligence. Well, he was technically an artificial being, created through painful experiments and years of illegal testing.

"Okay, then let's go…" Jackson waited about 3 more seconds before launching over to his weapon and grabbing it, aiming at the door behind him, "get'em!"

The moment he said those words, the door was kicked off the hinges and launched towards Jackson, only for it to be blasted by his weapon. He paced his other two shots, earning screams of agony from impacting the targets. He flipped the scythe around in a series of twirls, clicks emanating from it before he sheathed it. He walked over to a cabinet and opened it, pulling out an old rifle like weapon. He grabbed a large strap that crossed over his body, red and golden shells all over it. He flicked the small rifle before inserting 2 of the shells into the two barrels, flipping back into position with a satisfying click.

"I wanna keep from using my weapon too much. I'm gonna have to make this look like friendly fire." He mumbled to himself, aiming at the door again and shooting as another hunter came into sight. He fired twice, the rain of bullets obliterating the aura of the tracking hunter and piercing her skin. She began screaming in pain and Jackson walked over. Reloading the weapon as he got to her, he held the gun to her head and put his finger to the trigger. Only to be stopped by the shot of a rifle.

He was flung back with force, the bullet only damaging his aura slightly. Jackson hit the wall with a thud, causing him to choke on air as he struggled to breathe for a moment. As he struggled to get off the ground, his ears ringing, he looked up and saw 3 others helping the girl he had shot earlier. That's when he noticed it. These weren't hunters and huntresses. No, they were training to be hunters and huntresses. He used the shotgun to stabilize himself as he stood up, clenching his teeth in pain.

"Man, you kids are tougher than you look." He stated as he shook his head, clearing the ringing in his ears. Jackson could feel the aura of one of them and immediately reacted to its ferocity, dodging to the right side before closing the gap between them.

"Too bad you had to come here." And with those words, Jackson grasped the teen by the face and shoved the barrel of the shotgun into his mouth. He was about to pull the trigger, but didn't. Instead, he pushed the kid back into his friends, the team of trainee's shaking out of fear for their lives.

"Get out of here." And with those words, the teen's fled. Jackson sighed in relief. The last thing he wanted to do was kill kids.

He walked over to the door that was kicked off the hinges and picked it up, walked over to the door frame, and placed it back in its respective spot. The man headed over to his desk again and looked at the clock, sitting down before reclining his chair.

"It's almost time…"

* * *

To say Ruby was excited would be an understatement. She was bursting with the need to do something, and was, nonstop, tapping her finger on the bullhead seats with increasing speed. Blake was reading a book that she had brought with her, flipping the pages and smirking every here and there. Weiss was polishing her Myrtenaster, making sure nothing was wrong with it. Yang was just poking at the only other blonde, Jaune.

Yes, team JNPR had decided to come along for the ride as well. Only two teams and one team leader had come along, making the fill for a bullhead. And a private bullhead, courtesy of Serine Evelyn. The girl, like Weiss, was from a prestigious family, known for being amazing crime workers. They would catch every little detail in your voice, they would know when you were lying, all of that. They had been doing undercover operations on the Schnee's for years now, but that wasn't even known by Weiss, nor any of the other Schnee's.

But, with both coming from largely known families, it wasn't a surprise when they were practically at each other's throats, insulting the other about their family. A 'fight for supremacy' is what Yang called it, and damn right she was. The fight was just about way of transportation, Weiss said she would have her Father send a bullhead, only for that idea to be shot down by Serine. Apparently, she had already gotten a Bullhead from her mother, and that was all Weiss needed before saying it would be 'cheaper'. All in all, the fight was completely pointless, not to mention the fact that Serine Evelyn was a third year.

They were all currently flying silently before Pyrrha voiced everyone's thoughts, "Where are we heading?"

Serine glanced back towards the group of 8 before answering, "Towards the border of Vacuo and Vale territory. There's air traffic all over the place because the Vacuo team stumbled upon our culprit. Reports say the two hunters they were originally with were murdered, and the team was spared."

Serine, whom didn't show it, was actually sad about this. It wasn't the fact that someone died, it was because Jackson did it. She never knew him to be so aggressive like that, and the reports say that they were attacked first. But, unlike others, she second guessed it as 'they stumbled upon him and attacked first'. But the fact that he just killed them and didn't bother trying to knock them unconscious just upset her.

"Oh great, he's killing people." Ren stated in a tired sigh. Nora seemed to bounce up, the same with Yang.

"I'm going to BREAK HIS LEGS!"

Yang smirked at Nora's attitude, "Yeah! And then I'll break his ARMS!"

Ruby seemed to be getting restless, and had started tapping her fingers against the bullhead faster and faster. It almost sounded like they were being attacked by someone on the ground who was shooting, but that wasn't the case.

"You know, I heard he hasn't killed any Faunus yet. Why would that be?" Weiss asked, looking up from her weapon.

"Well, based on his file that I read, he isn't racist in the slightest. He's pretty appraised in the Faunus community, actually. The reason was because, apparently, he is a Faunus-human mix." Serine stated the data from the false file that was created. He wasn't half Faunus, right? She was fine either way, but would he seriously not tell her?

Blake actually perked up at the stating of this information, "You mean he's got Faunus traits? Like ears or something?"

"No," Serine began, "he doesn't have visible traits, but he has shown to have great eyesight and hearing, as well as smell. Jackson was also very agile from a young age, or so says the file. Some think he's a snake Faunus, but that can't be, can it."

It was now Jaune's turn to speak, "Aren't snakes deaf?" the moment he said those words however, his face turned green and Pyrrha grabbed a trashcan for him. He soon let the condiments of his lunch spill into the can, a gurgling sound following shortly after.

"Motion sickness, eh?" the driver asked, Pyrrha looking up from comforting Jaune.

"Yeah, we've been working on getting him over it." Serine nodded in understanding before speaking up.

"My advice, bring water with you. Drink that and it'll come out easier."

"T-thanks for the a-advice." Jaune said weakly.

Serine saw a message display itself in the front cockpit. It was from Ozpin to them apparently, the group of 8 in the back. she glanced back to see everyone look at their scrolls, some putting on confused faces while others gave Serine a strange look. Soon, she got a recorded message from Ozpin, along with the words " _Show to your passengers._ " With it. Serine put it through the speakers inside the ship.

" _Hopefully you are listening to this, Team JNPR and RWBY. This mission your on has been changed now, because of some…information that has been brought to me. Apparently, the people that are looking for Jackson are NOT official Atlas personnel. How do I know? Two things. I have word from James that he didn't even know about Jackson being held at an Atlas facility, neither about a facility out in the desert lands. The second thing is this,"_ there was a pause as a sip from a mug could be heard, " _you are to trust Serine Evelyn in this as much as you can. Your objectives have been changed from bringing Jackson Crow to Atlas…"_

 _"_ _To bringing him to me."_ With those words, the message ended. Weiss immediately stood and walked towards the cockpit, anger easily seen in her strides.

"What is this about?! Why are we going against Atlas?! Do you have some-" Serine cut Weiss off as she made a sharp turn, steadying the bullhead and putting it on auto-pilot before standing up.

"To answer whatever you said, this is about something big. We aren't going against 'Atlas' at all," Serine looked towards the back of the bullhead at everyone else, "or did you all not just hear Ozpin?! The Atlas that took Jackson wasn't Atlas at all!"

"And why should we trust this?!" Weiss shouted in anger, making everyone except for Serine shrink back a bit.

"I'll let him tell you…" the bullhead suddenly began to descend into a clear valley, it slowly landing in a treeless area. The moment it landed, the hatch opened up and Serine hopped out, motioning everyone to follow. With hesitation, everyone followed her off the bullhead. And what met their eyes was nothing but a wooden shack.

* * *

Jackson heard a bullhead approaching his direction, and he stood from his sitting position. He walked over to the window and looked outside to see a bullhead touch down a few yards from the shack he was in.

"Must be Serine. No one would've been able to get that beacon other than Serine." He stated to himself. But, to be safe he grabbed the shot gun from before and strapped a small machine onto his hand. The man looked outside once more, and his prediction was correct.

" **Oh, she brought food.** "

"No, not food. Help." Jackson whispered to Ayashi. He examined every single one of them and found their weapons on each of them, so he knew what to expect. However, he should still be prepared. His gaze met Serine's, who nodded a small nod. Jackson nodded back before heading towards the broken door, opening it. Or at least, that would've happened, had it not fallen off the hinges on top of an unprepared Jackson Crow.

"Gah! Oh shit!" Jackson shouted as he grabbed the door. But, he stumbled outside with the weight of the door upon him, and he tripped down the small stairs that lead to said door.

"Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shi~t!" he rolled down and face planted on top of the door, his fingers getting squished in the process. The sudden laughter of Serine was what was heard throughout the silent forest. Jackson looked up slowly to see her holding her stomach and letting laughter overcome her stature.

"Seri! It's not funny!" he whined as he began standing up. Serine wiped her eyes before grabbing him in a hug.

"Sorry, it was hilarious from my point of view!" Serine stated with a giggle. Everyone else just looked on in silence before Blake spoke up.

"Serine, who's this?" Jackson escaped from Serine grasp before looking at Blake with a smile.

"I am myself, duh!"

Weiss didn't seem to like the unserious attitude and walked up to him and got into his face, "No time for games! Who. Are. You?"

Jackson looked up in mock thought before replying, "Oh, you meant my name? Well, then I'm _him_!"

"Who's ' _Him_ '?" Pyrrha asked from the back of the group.

Before the words came out however, he had clicked the small machine against his palm and the window in the shack broke, a small black object flying into his hands, "I'm Jackson Crow, duh!"

Before they could even point their weapons at him, though, he had his scythe around all of their necks, the point just slightly tapping Jaune's neck. Everyone's face turned to one of shear horror before Jackson flipped his weapon away, it folding and being placed onto his back.

"I don't kill kids, though. So you're safe." He told them, except more serious. Everyone seemed to sigh in relief, but Weiss didn't care. She started getting out her scroll to contact Atlas, only for it to be snatched from her hands and tossed into the air. Jackson took out his shotgun and shot it twice in the air, and when it hit the ground, he walked over and crushed it under his armored boots.

Weiss, who was now frozen in shock, shrunk back when Jackson got into her face, "No! No calling Atlas! No calling other people! No…anything! Not until I say, got it? Because if you wanna get out alive, you are going have to come with me!"

Jackson felt heat coming from someone, drawing his gaze from the ice he just melted. He wound up facing Yang, who didn't seem to be having a good day, hinted via aura. Before he could make any sort of movement, he was launched across the small plateau, colliding into a tree. Yang stood there for a bit, her arm smoking from the punch.

"Y-yang! Calm. Down!" Ruby insisted from the back, though her weapon was out and ready. You know, just in case.

"Hold on Rubes, this guy here isn't done yet." Yang stated, a smirk marring her features. Everyone looked over at the tree line where Jackson had disappeared in, and watched as he got up in the most undead like fashion.

"Damn! You fucked up my spi-" Yang closed the gap with a smirk and punched him to the right again, blasting him into the forest again.

"Hey, watch your language around my baby sis!" she stated with some sort happiness in her tone. Weiss broke from her frozen state, pissed couldn't begin to describe her attitude.

"You insolent dunce! That scroll was 50 lien! And school property! What were you thinking?!" she brought out her rapier, and got into a combat stance. Jackson walked back out of the woods, rolling his arm as a sickening crack emanated from his shoulder.

"You know, if my aura wasn't so large, I'd probably be dead." He just lied to himself. He would've been dead 10 times over right now, had it not been for his aura and semblance. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't cut any of them. Blondie had just decided to punch him, and then Icy over there was pissed over a _scroll_.

"Yeah, well, you'll hopefully provide entertainment!" Yang shouted as she jumped over to him, trying to punch the man. As she collided with the boy, smoke and dirt seemed to appear out of nowhere, obscuring the view of everyone else.

When the dust cleared, even Serine was surprised at what stood there. Yang was pretty much frozen in the shock of it all, and Jackson just stood there, head leaning to the left. Beside his head, was Yang's fist, which was presumably dodged. Jackson stepped back before walking around Yang, walking back to the group. He held a straight face until Yang jumped back and shielded everyone from him coming any closer.

"Yo, I don't know why you're on edge, nor why you attacked me. Just be glad you're alive and not, you know, gone."

"What I wanna know is how the heck you dodged that attack." Yang stated with clenched teeth. Jackson sighed.

"Great," He mumbled to himself, "Yeah, yeah. Come inside first, lemme give you guys some sort of refreshment."

With those words, he nodded to Serine who lead them inside, leaving Jackson outside the shack. Clicking the machine on his hand again, his scythe flung off his back and into his hand, and then he flung it around a few times before aiming at the currently healthy bullhead. Clicking the handle, Jackson blasted the bullhead with his weapon, watching in content as it rusted and fell apart, before proceeding to walk inside.

* * *

 **Well, that's two chapters in one day! Over the day, I also noticed people favorited and following in me E-mail, so thank you! Next chapter, we shall see what happens! Other than that, I'll see you guys later!**


	5. Secrets

**Chapter 5, Secrets. I think I like the small titles I come up with for all my chapters. It's nice, you know. I think the small, short chapters slip right through the mind easily. Now, short authors note, but I'm just glad to deliver this chapter!**

* * *

Jaune was having a very confusing day. It was also a bad day, but more confusing than anything. He and his team had decided to go on the trip with the team leader of SKRG, pronounced scourge, and team RWBY. It was nothing but evident that _something_ would happen, yet he wrote it off as getting up early, only for him to become dead wrong later. Who would've thought that all 7 of them would end up sitting in a wrecked shack in the middle of nowhere, coffee (Chocolate milk for Ruby (Yang insisted)) in hands, with a wanted criminal on the chair across from them. _'You know, we've been just staring at each other for about five minutes now.'_ Jaune realized this via thought process. However, before he could speak up, Jackson cleared his throat.

"Now, you've all probably got that one thought in your head just screaming to get out, I know the feeling. _Too well_ ," He murmured the last part to himself, "I would just like to point out the fact that I'm getting the weirdest stare from Icy over there."

Almost everyone's eyes turned towards Weiss, who was the farthest from Jackson mind you, and had been refusing to touch her coffee, "What?! I'm not staring!"

"Icy, please. You need to cool off, no use in you melting." Jackson stated as he leaned back in his chair, smirking in secret from the stifled laughter. Jaune hadn't laughed. In fact, if anything, he thought that it wasn't a serious attitude towards the current situation. He knew Pyrrha felt the same way, too. Above the stifled giggles and laughter, Weiss tried to stutter back a reply. Incoherent words were the only things that came from that mouth, I kid you not.

"However, jokes aside, there is a serious matter. You all have been misinformed, and I mean everyone on Remnant, and I've got people coming after me. Students none the less, and I don't kill kids. Just hurt them…permanently."

"The fact is, the Atlas you guys see helping out here, are _NOT_ Atlas. These guys are more a third party, with their own interests. And believe me when I say this, they cannot be allowed to go further."

Weiss, who had regained her composure, intruded with a remark, "And why should we believe you? You're a wanted criminal, a **murderer** , that's supposed to be locked up. Not to mention the fact that these are Atlas personnel, everyone in the search is Atlas. I looked at the records with my own eyes."

Jackson seemed to perk up at this, glancing quickly towards Weiss and everyone else before sighing. He didn't speak, and it started to actually bug everyone. Jaune began feeling very awkward. Was he angry? Sad? Calm?

"Thinking." The word almost made everyone jump at how sudden it was, Jaune included.

"A-about what?" Jaune asked the question no one dared, and he felt eyes glance in his direction. Jackson opened one eye and looked at Jaune. At least before his eye cast down towards his sheathe.

"Okay, quick thing here off topic. Can you open up that sheathe?" Now, Jaune was surprised at this, but happily obliged. Grabbing his shield sheathe, he clicked the small button on the side. It popped out with a nice _'chink'_ to it, and Jackson's eyes were now both open. And wide.

"Y-you're an Arc?" the words seemed to be forced out, Jackson soon swallowing what he was about to say. The dual crescents on the shield were very well known to Jackson, but didn't seem to be well known to everyone else other than the Arc and the Crow.

"You guys…don't know…do you?"

Boisterous Yang spoke up next, "What do you mean, 'don't know'?"

"Yeah, there's nothing more to learn about Jaune-Jaune, right?!" Nora squealed with an awkward delight. Jackson twitched before turning towards the other three who hadn't answered. This whole ordeal began to make Jaune feel scared. Like, really scared. _'Is he going to do something to me?!'_ the thought raced Jaune's head before Jackson face palmed and sighed.

"Shady feline, you look smart. Do you know anything about the Arc family?" All that was met was silence as Blake only shook her head. Jackson groaned _very_ loud, before being interrupted by a loud growl from outside.

"One moment please," Jackson stood up before walking towards the broken door, "God damn Ursa, keep telling her to fucking leave me alone…"

The door was kicked down before Jackson made his outside. It was awfully silent before a large whimpering cry came from outside, Jackson yelling incoherent cursing at the Ursa Grimm. Ruby was whistling innocently, Yang plugging her ears for her. Everyone else just winced in actual _sympathy_ for the Ursa. After a few moments, Jackson walked back in, his aura very visible. He sat down once more, sighing as he relaxed a bit more.

"Okay, back to the topic of discussion. What is the Arc family famous for?" no one tried to answer. No one. Not even Jaune. He didn't want his friends to think him all high and mighty because of his lineage.

"Jeez, guys come on! The arc family is famous for training the best hunters, making some of them within their own family. You guys must really not pay attention to your lessons." Jackson shook his head in disappointment, Jaune visibly wincing at the remark. Eyes were suddenly trained on him, and he began to panic on the inside. _'They're gonna find out. They're gonna find out. They're gonna find out!'_ the thoughts were racing through his head, swimming like fish in a whirlpool.

"You mean, Jaune is from a prestigious family that makes the best hunters?!" Pyrrha seemed to cry out. Serine didn't look surprised and was silent the entire time. No one else said anything while it was silent. Jaune looked down, his hair shadowing over his features.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled out, "It was either this, or stay and train new generation hunters and huntresses."

It was now Ren's turn to speak, "Jaune, what do you mean?"

"The Arc family is renowned for creating, training, and then teaching some of Remnants best hunters. I, being the only male beside my dad in the family, was trained the most." Jaune sighed. It was about time for him to get this all off his chest. He had been hiding under false-false transcripts for too long. He continued.

"I was just like any other Arc. A hunter was what I wanted to be, so how could I refuse? The only issue was that when an Arc is done training, they begin to train the next generation of hunters. But the fact that our own household is used for it, and it's not a recognized school, means that teachers aren't easy to come by. I was the only other male, they all wanted me to be a teacher. But I wanted to go and fight; I wanted to be like every other hunter out there."

There was a pause. It was a long pause, and no one spoke a word. Not Jaune, not Jackson. Nobody. Nora was silently munching on a frozen pancake so she would be quiet. The news wasn't easy to comprehend, and Jaune wasn't even finished with his story, "So, I bluntly refused to teach them. I said I wanted to put my skills to use out there, away from the manor. And, though they were sad, my parents respected my decision. They got me into Beacon, but…not in the cleanest of ways."

"J-Jaune…you don't mean…?" Pyrrha stuttered out. No one dared speak a word, as this matter just became a team matter over everything, a partner to partner talk almost.

"Yes, my parents created the transcripts. Though not exactly fake, they had no other way. I wasn't recognized as a hunter-in-training, as I was trained by a school not recognized by the council as an actual training academy." Jaune felt sad. He was admitting that he lied, and he felt shame.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You mean you _snuck_ into Beacon?" Suddenly Weiss interjected, irritation evident on her face. Jaune only nodded in acknowledgement, causing Weiss to go into thought.

"I'm surprised honestly," Blake suddenly spoke up for once, "You acted for almost the entire school year. Acted like you didn't know anything, or that you were an amateur."

"B-but…I unlocked your aura in…the forest…" Pyrrha stuttered out once again, surprise etched into her features. Ruby was still trying to take it in, and Jaune doubted that Yang was even listening anymore.

"My aura reserves were astonishing, or so my mother told me. They could definitely read my aura, but they couldn't unlock it. So, I went through training without aura, and have the scars to prove it." Jaune stated. Jackson cleared his throat suddenly, catching everyone's attention.

"In all retrospect, I believe this isn't a big deal. Why you acted like a newbie, I'll never get. But the fact that you have the family crest with you means you've been _there_ a few times right?" Jaune's eyes widened in what seemed to be a small amount of fear, the place that Jackson was talking about coming into his imagination.

"The Grimm Badlands." Jackson nodded in confirmation at what Jaune said. The Badlands were a nasty place, crawling with Grimm. It was hard to find any peaceful places, and even then there would be a Boarbatusk or two wandering around. It was only where experienced fighters or hunters went to fight the Grimm. Settlements were around every here and there, but that's almost rare to find nowadays.

"Wait, Jaune's been out in the Badlands?!" Ruby squealed, stars suddenly in her eyes. Almost instantly, Jaune was against the wall as Ruby was being held down by Yang and Blake. Pyrrha winced a little while Ren face palmed. Nora, who was distracted, now jumped on top of the couch and began screaming things about "pancakes" and "Robots". Blake paid no mind to really anything, only being distracted by the string tied upon the fan above all of them. Weiss was still in thought about…something. Jackson groaned as his face fell into his hands. Serine just kept her eyes in him, rubbing his back in circles with the palm of her hand.

Everything suddenly froze.

No noises were made at all. It took Serine a moment to realize that everything stopped the moment she placed her hand on Jackson's back. Looking up, the green haired girl met the widened gaze of eight people, all staring at her in curiosity and…was that confidence?!

"W-what?" the word finally stuttered out of her mouth, making contact with everyone's ear drums. Jackson still hadn't moved, but a sigh was heard clearly from him.

"By the way," a sly smirk made its way to Yang's face, "How come you guys are so familiar with each other?" Now, Jackson immediately looked up at the question. He looked frozen for a while. Almost stone, except for the few blinks here and there.

"W-w-well…" Serine's cheeks began to tint a slight pink, "M-me and Jackson are c-c-childhood friends."

Jaune swore he saw Yang immediately reload. Serine had just fed her ammo. And he wasn't the only one who realized this either, Ren too. Both of them looked toward each other, fear for Serine's safety evident in their eyes. Jaune was about to try and cover for her, but by then he was too late.

"Oooh! SKRG leader has a _cruuuush_!" Yang teased, smirking all the while. This just made Serine turn a little redder in the face. Of course, Jackson was oblivious to this, as the main character is **always** dense to all the feelings pushed his/her way.

"N-n-n-n-n-no! I don't!" Serine stuttered out in embarrassment. Yang only snickered at the ordeal. _'I just got a truck load of ammo for the whole trip!'_ the thought stayed in her head as Serine waved her hands in front of her in embarrassment.

"Well, now that we're off the topic that was originally the reason I brought you here, let's get back to that." Jackson sat up in his chair a bit, adopting a look of seriousness. Everyone else kinda did the same, though you could see the difference.

"Icy, I know what you think you saw in those records, and I'm telling you this: they aren't Atlas." Jackson saw Weiss's face begin to scrunch up in apparent anger.

"They are though. The people there have been with Atlas for up to five years, and I've even seen a few myse-"

"Don't believe everything you read, Icy."

Weiss began to fume in anger, "Then explain to me! I've _seen_ these men in the halls of the Atlesian schools and Schnee manors **myself**!"

"You've got an example right next to you." Weiss looked over at Jaune, who gave her a nervous smile.

"That's different."

"No," Jackson stated calmly, "It's not. Fake transcripts don't get found easily anymore. Remnant is starving for better military power. Better hunters and huntresses. They'd go as far as experimenting on _kids_ to make better things to fight the Grimm."

"So, some organization has infiltrated Atlas?" Ruby interjected, causing Jackson to glance at her.

"No. No one has infiltrated Atlas." Jackson stated as he pulled out a black and orange scroll, looking through something.

"Then what is it?! You were just going on about Atlas being infiltrated!" Weiss almost screamed. Jackson glared daggers at her, causing a chill to make its way down her spine.

"I _meant_ that Atlas is not who you think they are. They are willing to wage war, Icy, and they have the tools to do it… _i know it all too well_ …" the last part was whispered to himself, but everyone caught that last phrase. The crew watched him silently as he pulled something up on his scroll, flipping the scroll as a mini map laid out in front of everyone.

"This," he pointed to the map, "Is a map of the area around us. I've got a drone up in the sky right now, feeding me map data every few minutes. We've got a window right now because of earlier events, the whole search has been halted and their beginning to converge on our position. That Bullhead you guys brought in? It was easily traceable, so I destroyed it before they could get a clear lock."

"Wait, you mean we were traced?" Blake stated with nothing short of surprise. Jackson answered with a nod of his head. Everyone began thinking about this, all except Jackson it seemed. He had opened up his scroll again and pressed a few things before a path appeared upon the map.

"This will be our route. We have to be silent while we travel, they've got Hunter Trackers with'em. Damn bastards don't know when to stop." A loud cough came from Yang as Jackson looked at her direction. A blood vein seemed to pop from Yang's forehead, causing Jackson to slightly recoil.

"Watch the language or else…" the unfinished threat was heard by Jackson, and began nodding ferociously. The map let out a light beep noise when around 14 blips popped up on the outskirts of the small grassy plateau.

"Shit…" Jackson mumbled, earning another glare from Yang. The man ignored it before closing the map with a flick of his scroll, he pocketed the device before standing up. Everyone began to stand up with him, only for him to point downward with his finger.

"Stay. Low. I'll be right back." He whispered to them. The group of girls and two boys were confused before Jackson clicked his right hand again, the machine quickly activating as his weapon flew into his hand.

"Jackson, what's going on?!" Serine whispered the question. Jackson did bother looking behind him to answer.

"Hunters. Tracker squad. 14 of them. Amateurs honestly," he began to walk slowly towards the door, "Seri, everyone. Whatever you do, don't look outside."

All that met the statement was more confusion, of which Jackson ignored. As he put his foot against the door, prepared to kick the door down for the second time, he glanced back at everyone. _'Just to make sure.'_ He thought as he grabbed the shotgun at his side, flipping it as he aimed at the door. A second later a gunshot rang through the air. Not hearing any sort of noise other than the door creaking, Jackson sheathed the weapon as he kicked the door open.

The moment that happened, all chaos ensued. He dodged to the left as an arrow suddenly implanted itself in the door frame. He began to run into the forest, only to be ambushed half way to the end of the plateau. Two hunters jumped out, a long sword and staff. These were the less mechanical hunter weapons, ne mechanism in them. Just simple weapons, but made out of the toughest stuff you could find. Jackson clashed with the two as he jumped over them, using his scythe to catch their weapons and disarm them. When they dropped their weapons, Jackson immediately turned around and cut the two in half with his scythe, sprinting towards the forest edge once more. He could hear them. The hunters running through the trees. He needed to lead them away before he could let Ayashi take them out.

The moment he stepped into the forested area however, the ground made a clicking sound. Eyes wide in realization, Jackson couldn't avoid the explosion to follow. He was launched back into the center of the grassy plateau, no longer anywhere near the trees. He groaned as he stood up from the small dirt crater he made, completely caught off guard and couldn't react to the sudden incoming dust attack. Bracing himself as best he could, Jackson was flung back a few feet, crashing into the wall of the shed. He was forced down on one knee, breathing heavily as he was approached.

"For some reason," one of the hunters began as Jackson looked up at them, "Your wanted alive, and strictly so. You'd be better off dead."

* * *

Though unseen, Weiss was using Yang's scroll to record the fight through the window. They could see all 12 remaining hunters, and Jackson was also clearly visible.

"Weiss! Get down!" Ruby whispered worriedly, earning a glare from Weiss.

"No way am I listening to this buffoon. Everything seems too sketchy, so I'm going to record this and we're all gonna watch the video. _Together_." She stated, giving the all looks. Serine looked downcast at this. They were plotting behind his back, and she couldn't do anything. It would get them caught, and then they'd probably be prosecuted.

"W-what's he doing?!" Weiss almost yelled as she saw events unfold before her.

* * *

"Why do they want you alive so badly? You're nothing, just a threat to Remnant."

"Actually," Jackson began as a smirk took over his face, "I'm a monster, and a scary one. I'm the beast you would fear was under your bed at night, the shadowed figure diving into the alley down the road. You feared me as a child and you still do."

The hunter above snorted in disgust before stabbing Jackson with his sword, the weapon piercing his aura, "That's strange. They said you had aura that needed a limiter, yet this thing just glided right through! Was it all a fad?!"

"No, it wasn't. I simply pumped my aura into my feet." Suddenly, Jackson grabbed the sword and tore it out of his stomach, blood flowing out of the wound before stopping shortly after. The wound was healed.

"So, I guess you could say that with enough aura you're immortal. You could stab at me all you want, but I'd just heal it with my aura. So, would you like to try again," Jackson stood up straight as his skin began to turn death black, "Bi **tch?** "

* * *

 **Long ass chapter, lots of chatting. I like the whole gig I pulled with Jaune actually being a super badass (shown next chapter). Other than that, it looks like our Serine has a** ** _cruuuush_** **on Jackson! :D just wait till next chapter, and until then goodbye!**


End file.
